The present invention is directed to a grounding mechanism for the electrical connection of shieldings of multi-pole plugs to a ground potential layer of a printed circuit board that has a plurality of perpendicularly extending contact blades.
These prior art grounding mechanisms have spring elements that are arranged in combination with the shieldings such that, when the plugs are plugged onto the printed circuit board, the shieldings press resiliently against the contact blades that are conductively connected to the ground potential layer of the printed circuit board.
For example, such a grounding mechanism is disclosed by European Patent Application EP 0 203 404 A2. One disadvantage of these known grounding mechanisms is that they require a considerable manufacturing outlay and that they must be initially provided, i.e. they cannot be retrofitted as needed. A further disadvantage of the known mechanisms is that an optimum current flow to the ground potential layer is not always established.